Judaism Examined : Essays in Jewish Philosophy and Ethics

Are there theoretical grounds for tolerance in the classical Jewish tradition? Is human autonomy endorsed by Judaism? What is the range of attitudes toward pleasure that has found expression in Jewish sources? What does Maimonides have to say about joy, and what does Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik teach about human suffering? This volume of essays examines these and many other key questions about Judaism from the rigorous perspective of philosophical analysis. Unlike most scholarship in Jewish philosophy, which approaches the field primarily from the perspective of intellectual history, this volume also engages in active philosophical dialogue with the texts and thinkers it addresses. Judaism Examined is a much-needed answering voice to the perennial questions of Jewish philosophy.

This volume of essays examines key themes in Jewish philosophy and ethics from the rigourous perspective of philosophical analysis. The first set of essays takes up the challenge of living a Jewish life, and includes essays on pleasure, joy, human suffering, Jewish ritual practice and the philosophical life. The second set of essays analyses the value and meaning of autonomy, human freedom and tolerance in Jewish thought, crucial themes in western political thought and life. Other essays in the volume examine the many meanings of Jewish texts, and such crucial issues in applied Jewish ethics as ecology, medical ethics, and justified homicide. Finally, a number of essays plumb the depths of one of the most influential and creative Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Taken as a whole, this volume advances the engagement of classical Jewish themes with Anglo-American philosophy, shedding new light both on the Jewish tradition, and on the western philosophical enterprise.